Jurgen Klopp ready to snub return to management after Liverpool exit and will retire to luxury Majorcan villa
JURGEN KLOPP is set to walk away from football… to his multi-million-pound luxury villa in sun-kissed Majorca.
Worn-out Klopp will say an emotional farewell to Liverpool on Sunday after a remarkable eight and a half-year reign.
And when the fanfare has all died down, he plans to escape the spotlight by heading for the peace and tranquillity of the Balearics.
The German, 56, is a legend on Merseyside — and a wanted man by clubs AND countries.
But he plans to say a definitive ‘no’ to any offer of a quick return to the game as he takes a well-earned break from the stresses and strains of Premier League football.
Sources close to Klopp say he is genuinely jaded by management.
And he is now keen to enjoy a low-key life away from the media glare after the high-pressure demands of his job at the Anfield giants.
Klopp cannot move without adoring fans wanting to speak to him.
And while his family are settled and have managed to cope, he has taken all of the focus of supporter adulation.
Feyenoord chief Arne Slot confirmed he will take over at Liverpool this summer.
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Klopp has bought a pad in Majorca and plans to stay there so he can go out and about without non-stop recognition.
He paid around £3.5million for the 5,000sqm villa, which was previously owned by Swiss businessman and artist Rolf Knie.
Yet Klopp will not escape football entirely as Brendan Rodgers, another ex-Reds boss, has a holiday home nearby.
Klopp was sounded out over his potential interest in several jobs — but he told suitors he wants to recharge his batteries.
Klopp has botched his Liverpool exit… and it’s cost him his legacy, says Dave Kidd
By Dave Kidd
NOW we know Jurgen Klopp’s final major trophy haul at Liverpool — one Champions League, one Premier League, one FA Cup, two League Cups and (if you must) a World Club Cup.
But where does his reign stand among the greatest of the Premier League era?
In black-and-white terms, Klopp is way behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, the only two men to have won multiple Premier Leagues and a Champions League at the same club.
Those two sit alongside Brian Clough, Bob Paisley and Sir Matt Busby as the undoubted all-time managerial greats of the English game.
But Klopp ranks in the next tier down — with Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho (the Chelsea version), Bill Shankly and Don Revie.
These were all men with the strength of character to transform their clubs in their own image and enjoy success but who did not win as much as they might have done.
Had Klopp managed to keep his intentions under wraps and ended up with another title, perhaps even a treble or quadruple, he’d have edged himself up into that highest echelon with Ferguson, Guardiola, Clough, Paisley and Busby.
But deciding the timing and the manner of your exit is one of the toughest calls for any manager or sportsman.
Klopp got it wrong.
Read Dave Kidd’s take on Klopp’s demise in full here.
Or click here to check out all of Dave Kidd’s articles.